Man And Nature Like Electricity And Water

• Bj Cunningham, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2017

I raise my sleepy head. It is a cold miserable morning. Twigs and pine cones layer the ground. It effectively hides the ugly coarse dirt. Gum, pine, oak, Mjozi and Mfune surround me. All I can see for miles is the bush canopy. A bar of phone reception is scare.
There was only charcoal left of the fire that burnt merrily through the humid night. Mist engulfed the air and adds character to the bright landscape. You can hear the sound of water running in the steam nearby. My arm flicks viciously with a Swiss army switchblade on to a lousy piece of flint. The flint cries out to me “stop” after many attempts. Flames dances majestically above a pile of tree branches and twigs.
My arms force my stiff body to place a grill over the once merry fire. The fire is separated by a small circle of granite from freedom. The grill is charcoal rustic chips of metal hang of it. No fabric was ever welcome on it let alone a cloth. A marinated piece of trail stake cooks and sizzles. The grill is on its last legs.
My eyes distinguish gasses of smoke in the background. It’s located just behind me and my mate’s khaki green Kathmandu three-person tent. It has yellow fluoro strings attached to the earth by 1950’s pegs. My body forces me to act on the horrendous sight. With a bucket in my right hand, my leg walks towards the sight like some sort of magnetic pulse drawing me closer and closer. The bucket is maroon and metallic.it once had illustrations painted on it but only their faint soul remained
My body frantically scrambles towards the smoke sight yellow unwelcoming flames dance in the gentle breeze under the base of a eucalyptus tree. Beams of sun had penetrated through an old glass bottle and created a spark about the size of a create.
My gut urges me to head to the steam so I do. The steam is about five hundred metres away. My arms gracefully submerge the metallic bucket in the lifeless stream. Water slowly drizzles out of the bucket, it spits out quickly at spots with many holes. Without thinking I am at the fire sight. My instincts take full control of my mini built muscular body. All of a sudden, the smoke eerie multiplies as a consequence of the water making contact with the fire. Have I done enough? That is the question.